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I recently took a second shot in baking, basic baking, that is. I wanna learn how to make cookies, tarts, cupcakes. My kids loved them. I am keen on starting my baking journey in making those simple pastries. Plus, I have to get started too with the right tools as required when you want to achieved an edible and not burnt bakery foodies. That means, I have to stray away from my usual habit of making “estimates” or using kitchen items such as cups in measuring ingredients. For all we care, there must have been a dozen different cup sizes in our kitchen counter. So, in the end, baking always end up in disaster.

To start with, I bought few kitchen tools that will guide me to make accurate measurements on the ingredients used.

Here they are:

Kitchen scale. This tool will be extra useful when measuring dry ingredients. Baking entails precise measurements, hence, exact weights are needed to ensure successful results in baking.

Liquid measuring cups. This is intended for measuring liquids like milk, oil, water or juice. They come in either plastic or glass. Measurements are clearly indicated on the side of the cup. They have a pouring spout for easy for easy management of the liquids. Their main purpose is to try to give out exact liquid proportions as needed for in a recipe.

Measuring cups. Set of measuring cups come in 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 and 1 cup. They come in either plastics or stainless steel. They have flat surfaces for easy leveling. Hence, one will get the exact ingredients as called for by the recipe. No more estimates using different cup sizes. These cups are usually use for measuring dry ingredients such as flour, sugar, butter, syrup, and more.

Measuring spoons. Same as in the measuring cups, measuring spoons come in either plastic or stainless steel.  A set of these spoons have measurements for 1/4 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon, 1 teaspoon, and, 1 tablespoon. These spoons are intended to measure small amounts of ingredients such as baking soda or baking powder, salt, vanilla extracts, and other spices. Because measuring spoons are used both with dry and liquid ingredients, it is preferable to have two sets of measuring spoons .

Yes. I have started my baking journey with those small kitchen tools. As I promised to add more and more tools as I go on with my renewed passion in baking.

As I scroll down the web looking for necessities in basic baking, I find a site where you can find a complete list of items necessary to make every baking adventure a success. Check out thebakingpan.com. Now, I know what should I be needing for my first try out in baking cakes.

Crossing fingers

And, finally, this oven have made its official cooking duties, four months after it has been bought in August. Yes, it has been only last December, where holidays and events were aplenty had this oven began its service. Two reasons were behind the postponement: 1) I wanted the oven be placed not inside our house, but on the “dirty kitchen”, instead. 2) Hubby said, it is better off on our counter top “inside” the house.

Didn’t I often wrote that me and the hubs have opposing views on almost all things? We argued on a lot of things. Er, please note that the arguments does not lead to physicality nor verbal abuses. In fact, argument have made us understand MORE of each other. I know, that sounds eccentric.

But, in the end, guess which proposal had pushed through…

The oven here is shown in a corner in our unruly “dirty kitchen”… sitting on a makeshift table that hubby repaired. It may be a compact unit but helps me with my baking try-outs. Lasagna’s in the oven

Thanks Dhemz for hosting Blog Photo Challenge at your Me and My Passion blog.

Hate to say goodbye to my good old but very durable two-burner gas stove. Yes, the classic Standard gas stove. It’s a wedding gift. Imagine using the small household appliance since 1995. Whew! That’s a lot of years cooking our foods:

Sans rust build-up on its body, the unit still runs good. Except, the flame on the other burner wouldn’t be maximize. The hubby told me a couple of times already, sooner, it will wear off due to age. The rust will get into the small pipes which carried gas off to the burner. He further added, I should be buying a new one and it would not even hurt my budget. A new double burner gas stove costs as low as P900 (around $21) depending on the brand.

I had better (worse, as in hubby’s side^_^) idea for its replacement…

Been eyeing a freestanding gas range complete with range hood. But, I can’t. First, budget won’t allow me to have it. Then, the limited space in our kitchen allowed no more big and bulky appliances. What an excuse:)

Contentment is the key to happiness. Isn’t it? Citing the budget and the space, I came upon this “dwarf” La Germania Compact range.

Price at P11,048 (around $263), it’s the closest I can get to owning one which has the capability of a full oven. It has two automatic ignition burner on top which is the perfect replacement for the old gas stove. Then, it has a compact oven (run on gas, too), same as the size of the brand’s conventional free standing model.

And, since it is too compact, it can be place on top of the counter or a durable small table, hence, the moniker, TABLE TOP OVEN.

Now, I have “few” of my wishes came true for this year. I shall not bother coming to my brother’s house to use my mom’s 70′s gas range^_^ for my bake needs. Yey!

Ooopppsss! The unit is still in storage, waiting for the hubby to fix the table where it would sit ^_^.

Sharing this white unit @